11-07-2025
Lost tomb & body of ancient 1,700-year-old king buried with chilling death mask uncovered in Mayan temple
The Maya are celebrated for creating objects from finely carved jade
MASK OF DEATH Lost tomb & body of ancient 1,700-year-old king buried with chilling death mask uncovered in Mayan temple
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ARCHAEOLOGISTS have uncovered the 1,700-year-old tomb of the earliest known ruler of the ancient Maya city of Caracol.
The tomb of Te K'ab Chaak, who once ruled over what is now modern-day Belize, was filled with a trove of ancient burial items.
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The funerary mask of King Pakal of Palenque shows what the mask found in Te K'ab Chaak's tomb would have looked like
Credit: Wolfgang Sauber
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Archaeologist Diane Chase inside Te K'ab Chaak's tomb, which dates to the fourth century AD
Credit: Caracol Archaeological Project / University of Houston
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Aerial view of the unearthed tomb of the first ruler of Caracol, an ancient Maya city in Belize
Credit: Caracol Archaeological Project / University of Houston
A number of impressive objects, including 11 pottery vessels, jadeite jewellery, a mosaic jadeite mask and Pacific spondylus shells, were found at the burial site, which dates back to around 350 AD.
As is typical for Maya funerary masks, the one found - though broken - was made by fitting together small pieces of jadeite, a precious green stone, into a mosaic pattern.
The discovery of Te K'ab Chaak's tomb provides new insights into the origins of Maya dynastic rule and early regional interactions in Mesoamerica.
After more than four decades of excavation, married archaeologists Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase from the University of Houston made a breakthrough.
This marks the first time a Caracol king has been identified.
Te K'ab Chaak became ruler in around 331 AD, founding the royal dynasty of Caracol - a major Maya metropolis until its abandonment by 900 AD.
The Chases believe that Te K'ab Chaak was of advanced age at the time of his death.
He stood around 5 feet 7 inches tall, according to their estimations.
Te K'ab Chaak's tomb was located at the base of a royal family shrine.
Archaeologists uncovered a cremation burial containing the remains of three individuals, dating to around 350 AD.
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The tomb also held items from central Mexico, including knives, obsidian blades and atlatl points.
The discovery comes just over a month after an ancient Mayan city was discovered by archaeologists in northern Guatemala.
The nearly 3,000-year-old remains include remarkable pyramids and monuments that appear to be "sculpted with unique iconography".
This ancient city, named Los Abuelos - the Spanish for "The Grandparents" - once stood around 13 miles from the significant archaeological site of Uaxactún, according to Guatemala's culture ministry.
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A pottery vessel portraying Ek Chuah, the Maya god of traders, found in Te K'ab Chaak's tomb
Credit: Caracol Archaeological Project / University of Houston
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Tubular beads made from carved jade were discovered in the tomb
Credit: Caracol Archaeological Project / University of Houston
Los Abuelos gets its name from two human-like sculptures of an "ancestral couple" found there.
These figures "could be linked to ancient ritual practices of ancestor worship", the ministry added.
The city is likely to have been "one of the most ancient and important ceremonial centres" of Mayan civilisation.
Meanwhile, another ancient Mayan city was discovered deep inside a dense jungle within the Balamkú ecological reserve in the Mexican state of Campeche.
Named Ocomtún - which means "stone column" in Yucatec Maya - the city was hailed as a "monumental" discovery by Mexican authorities in 2023.
The settlement dates from roughly 250 AD and 1000 AD.
Ocomtún boasts remains of several massive pyramid-like structures, three plazas with "imposing buildings", numerous stone columns and other cylindrical structures.
One pyramid is estimated to have stood as tall as 82 feet, towering over the surrounding jungle.
